ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli will be heading for space a third time, as part of Expeditions 52 and 53 to the International Space Station. He will be launched on a Soyuz vehicle in May 2017 on a five-month mission.

On 26 July at 11:30 CEST, EUMETSAT took control of Europe’s last Meteosat Second Generation weather satellite, MSG-4. This follows the successful launch of the satellite on 15 July aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, and the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) carried out by ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, ESOC, on EUMETSAT’s behalf.

The last weather satellite in Europe’s highly successful Meteosat Second Generation series lifted off on an Ariane 5 launcher at 21:42 GMT (23:42 CEST) on 15 July from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.